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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

It was my brother’s birthday last week. My mother is in New York on her annual vacation from us, so we decided to have a quiet dinner out on Sunday evening. Just me, my bro A, his girlfriend B, and C.

I know what you’re thinking. It was fine when it was just C, but A, B, and C? No, I’m not making it up.

So, back to the birthday dinner and my awesome brother who celebrated it. He and I are quite close, as far as siblings of opposite gender with five years between them go. In the beginning, I (and he) admit, it may have been for lack of choice. You see, it’s just the two of us. But after much hair-pulling and face-smacking and blood-drawing (ok, that was only once, and he bit me!), we realized that in a family of four, neither of us would get anywhere with only 25% of the vote. Together, with a 50% share, we had more power. We could watch each other’s back and, even as the junior generation, lobby enough to sometimes change the unwavering tides of parental decree.

It may have seemed strange at times – my Barbies and his Transformers*** co-existing in the same city built of Styrofoam (he used the Styrofoam from old toy boxes). Obviously these games were pretty much silent because Barbie and the Autobots did not have much to say to each other...although they did eat the same birdseed/hamster food.

From these incongruent beginnings though, we discovered strong and fundamental similarities that bound us: the love of books and reading; intense discussions about everything from government, to God, to utopia, to, um, gas; a passion for food and eating; valour in the face of grossness; fondness for things weird and unexplained; an obsession with the way we smell; a predisposition to be unskinny; the conviction that sleep is indeed an important “activity”. And a love for chocolate cake.

As I mentioned here, my brother is one of my favourite people to cook/bake for. His appetite, coupled with his eloquence, make him the perfect envoy of food-related compliments. His favourite baked-by-me chocolate cake, so far, is this one from Chocolate & Zucchini. I have to say it’s my favourite as well – I love this pretty much flourless approach to chocolate cake. This cake by Nigella, though quite different, quickly won our palates.

- Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until color lightens (it’ll go from dark to light brown). Add eggs and vanilla, beating in until incorporated.- Fold in the melted (and slightly cooled) chocolate. Blend well until just combined but do not overbeat.- Gently add the flour (to which you’ve added the baking soda), alternately, spoon by spoon, with the boiling water, until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter.- Pour into a 23x13x7 cm loaf tin that has been greased and lined. The lining is important because this is a very damp cake. I used a slightly smaller loaf tin and got two cupcakes extra :)- Place filled loaf tin on a baking tray into a 190C oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 170C and bake for 15-20 minutes more. An inserted cake tester won’t come out completely clean as the cake will still be a tad “squidgy” inside.- Place the loaf tin on a rack and wait until it gets completely cool before turning out.

As the name suggests, this cake was moist and dense with a very tight crumb. It also had a surprisingly intense chocolate flavour. That being said, the cake was incredibly soft and light. Puzzling but delicious. On the whole, a cake better eaten than explained.

I used the darkest muscovado sugar I had. As I only have experience with our local muscovado (which is different from our local brown sugar), I have no idea if it’s any different from the muscovado Nigella uses across the pond. Ours is more like powder than crystals, deeply brown, with an earthy molasses-like taste. Is it the same for you? I now realize that in different editions of her book it actually says dark brown sugar. So which should actually be used I wonder? In any case, it worked brilliantly on this cake so I’ll continue to use our local muscovado when I make this in the future.

The loaf pan I used was a bit smaller than what was indicated in the recipe so I got the two extra cupcakes out of it. Not a bad thing that ;)

On a personal note, this must be the softest cake I have ever made. And that is saying something as I am sadly heavy-handed with cake batter (no matter how much I envision myself to have elegance and finesse). Really, I was so amazed at how soft the tight-knit crumb was that I kept poking it gently with my finger, as one would a new feather pillow. No matter what, for now, I will be in Nigella’s debt for that.

And to my brother: I wish you all the happiness you deserve...which is to say an awfully indecent amount! And more chocolate cake of course :)

***Although my brother never developed any sympathies for Barbie, I did kinda fall in love with the Transformers. Yes, I watched the movie. And I’m not ashamed to admit I cried the first time Optimus spoke.

40 comments:

Belated happy birthday to your brother! Wow, Joey, you sure know how to draw attention with the title! Yumburgers! The cake looks gorgeous-- well done. Actually I've not been very satisfied with the depth of the chocolate cakes I've made recently but that may be the fault of the chocolate. Sa totoo lang duda ako na totoong Callebaut yung "Callebaut" sa Cook's Exchange. Neither the package nor the chocolate has any markings!

I didn't have very many toys growing up :( I so wanted those Legos and Play-Dohs!

Hi Manggy! Thank you from him :) As for the title, thanks go to Nigella as that is what she named this cake :) Chocolate quality matters to buy the best you can afford...I have bought Callebaut in cook’s exchange that did have the Callebaut stamp on the chocolate block itself, so only get those (with the marking)! They also have Valrhona :) I don’t get the ones with the stripey markings. I love Lego!

Hello Fearless Kitchen! It did! At least for me...and I am not a good cake maker by nature ;)

Hi Rosa! Thanks! They were :)

Hi Patsyk! It looked that way to me too! This recipe is permanently bookmarked for me :)

Hi Cecile! I have the British edition, which I suppose is why everything is in grams...but I have to say this, give the metric system a try! I grew up using measuring cups but now I love weighing ingredients! Aside from it being more precise, it leaves me with a lot less to wash at the end of the day! ;)

Hi Anh! Wish I could send you a slice!

Hi Socky! Wise words...so true!

Hi Sha! Thanks! I’m so excited!!!

Hi Shaheen! I have heard many things about Nigella, both good and bad, but so far I have tried 3 of her recipes and all 3 have been delicious! Although I do admit that her instructions could stand to be a bit more specific for spazzy bakers like myself! ;)

Joey, I was reading your post, and picturing me and my brother! I'm four years older than he is: our relationship is pretty much as you described. Although I wasn't a big Barbie fan, I had my (only) Barbie having dinner with his Action Man quite often!

Will have to give it a try at this cake... Perhaps for my bro's birthday! :)

Sounds like you and your brother have a very special relationship. You're very fortunate... I was just thinking about chocolate cake with creme anglaise. It's that time of year! This one sounds wonderful.

My older brother than I are five years apart too. And we've only had one physical fight, I have to admit trying to choke him! Perhaps it was more gigil than anything, but it was bad enough that he never tried scaring me late at night again heeheehee. Siblings, what to do with them??I love that cake you made with the Choc/Zucchini recipe too, but this one looks very tasty!

yum! my mouth watered just looking at the photos, even though i'd just had lunch and fro yo for dessert (got the bags yesterday, thank you!) will you make this cake in the moomin loaf tin for garbo's future baby shower?

Hi Suzana! Aw! It’s so nice to hear that we have even more in common :) And such a great thing to have in common at that :) If only humans where like our toys, with Action Man and Optimus Prime making friends with Barbie and her gang, despite their obvious differences, wouldn’t the world be so much more interesting and peaceful? :)

Hi Susan! Creme anglaise with this cake sounds divine! Nigella also has a recipe of white chocolate rum custard that she sometimes has with this cake...sounds yummy too :)

Hi Sophia! Yes, we do have a quirky bond :) We can talk for hours!

Hi Jescel! Yup, very close and both of us have had our naughty days too I guess...good thing we were there to look out for one another (and to cover up when one would made takas, hehe)! I love the way the cake turned out :)

Hi Mikky! Thanks! They did come out very good – which is saying a lot because I’m not the best baker on the block by a long shot!

Hi Patricia! Hehe, my dad’s a Scorpio too! I’m a Libra and I think we get along fabulously! Go try it! Would love to see your’s! If I’ve made it that means it can’t be too complicated :)

Hi Bordeaux! Haha! I was quite the Barbie freak when I was younger...I had her clothes, her horse, her little dune buggy, and even a pool! I could go for hours playing!

Hi Midge! He was much smaller than me then (which isn’t true anymore now!) so he bit my stomach! I still remember the horror with which I saw his little teeth marks on my tummy! Arck! I was very upset, hehe ;) I will check out the cookie recipe...thanks!

Hi Susan! I love how dark it is too! I’m with you on the “dense” :)

Hi Tanna! I got those paper cup thingies in Hong Kong (I have never been able to find them here yet!) just for cupcakes...heehee, the things we do!!!

Hi Jude! Muscovado rocks! :)

Hi M! Oh my! If I could have a dollar for every time my brother scared me! This cake has a different crumb and taste altogether from the C&Z one but both our good :) My bro’s fave is still the C&Z cake...gotta love that (almost) flourless gateau ;)

Hi Peabody! It is! Well, maybe not really ;)

Hi Buon Viaggio! Thanks! So far I have only tried 3 of her recipes...and all 3 turned out yummy :)

Hi Veron! Hehe...hear hear!!! :)

Hi Stepfor Mum! Got the moolahs thanks! What a great idea to make it in the Moomin tin for Garbo...we must plan that! :)

this is why i love ur blog posts... its not just about the food but the story behind the food. I love how uv described ur relationship with ur brother... iv nearly been an only child (my sis is 11 years older than me) so iv always hankered for a brother somewhere... Of course my heart always hankers for chocolate cake too... damn i love ur post :)

I was laughing so hard I was crying when I read this! Seriously ... I too am a Transformers fanatic and yes ... when I Optimus Prime said, "My name is Optimus Prime.", I wanted to stand up and applaud. Love the loaf!

I was smiling the whole time I was reading this post Joey!! My brother and I only bonded years after we became "adults" but he did bit me when I was 4 and I still have the mark and we would actually put my Barbies together with his GIJoes!!

Your chocolate cake is gorgeous, Joey! But, you know what I loved most about this post? Reading about your obvious love and affection for your brother. I lost my beloved little brother 13 years ago, when he was just 19. Oh, what a life changing thing to go through. And I loved to cook and bake for him too...he was an appreciative audience for any and everything I could come up with, and the sweetest, most fun brother I could have ever hoped for. I miss him every day, and it warmed my heart to read about you and your bro. My brother's name started with an A, and mine with a B, so I thought your A, B and C reference was cute as can be too. :-)

Thanks Belinda! Oh I’m so sorry to hear about your brother! He sounded like a wonderful person, as I am sure you are too! I wish I could go over there and share some cake and a big hug with you now...I’m sending warm thoughts your way!

Hi Robin! Thanks! :) Hope you like this one :) Hahahaha! We are obsessed with our own smells!

hiyee! i've been searching for those cupcake molds for centuries. where, o where, did you get them? hopefully not in the US. oh, and thanks for bringing nigella in the spotlight. i've been hearing not-so-positive things about her as well, and you pulling something beautiful off made me look at her again. =)

Hi Voltaire John! I got them in HK! I had been wanting this type of cupcake paper so I grabbed it when I saw it there :) Haven't found any here yet...So far Nigella has done good by me so I'm not complaining :)